In a speech critical of party’s performance during its stint in the government, Peoples Democratic Party patron, MuzaffarHussainBaig, on Tuesday asked the leadership and his colleagues to acknowledge that the party failed to deliver on the mandate it had won in the last Assembly election.
Baig was speaking at party’s Political Affairs Committee(PAC) here which was chaired by the PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti. His speech camein the backdrop of the party’s worst performance in the just concluded LokSabhaelections.
The PDP lost all the three Parliament seats it had won inlast LokSabha polls and managed to take lead in just four of 46 Assemblysegments in Kashmir.
“We must acknowledge that we failed to match our own claimsand live up to expectations of people,” Baig told the meeting, adding the partymust accept that it failed to deliver.
In 2015 state elections the PDP had emerged as single largest party winning 28 Assembly segments. It went on to form the government, in coalition with BJP. But ever since the government assumed the office the PDP was confronted with one after another problem, from the tag of entering “unholy alliance” to shocking loss of power in June 2018 when BJP pulled the rug beneath the feet of Mehbooba and finally the rebellion that hit the party earlier this year after losing power.
“The people were angry with us and they felt betrayed. Wecouldn’t deliver on the promises that we had made with the people and hence hadto face the people’s anger (in the election),” a party member quoted Baig astelling the meeting.
For the first time Baig raised questions about partyapproach to the elections. “The consultation process within the party was noton track and we couldn’t organise ourselves for entering the polls,” Baig, theformer MP from Baramulla constituency, said.
“He (Baig) spoke plain and blunt,” a senior party leadersaid.
Another leader said Baig also came down heavily on “some”party leaders who had questioned performance of their colleagues from northduring the Parliament elections in Kashmir, in a meeting on 19 May.
A “furious” Baig, without naming anybody, openly told themeeting that “such” party members shouldn’t be made part of any kind ofdeliberations in future, the party member said. Mehbooba, he said listenedsilently to Baig.
The 19 May meeting which was the first, held by the PDPafter LS polls, had discussed the party’s poll debacle across Kashmir. A seniorparty leader said besides PDP chiefMehbooba Mufti and many other party leadershad raised fingers over performance of members from the north in the lastmeeting.
“Though Baig sahib attended the previous meeting he didn’tspeak a word that time. Today, he was altogether different and raked up theissue at the beginning of his speech,” said the party leader.
He said Baig told the meeting that each member should ownthe responsibility of the party’s worst performance on the electoral front.
“MehboobaJi shouldn’t have contested the election at theoutset. Now, that the results are in front of us. We should own them,” themember quoted Baig telling the meeting.
In an official statement the party said it shall be open forjoint response to the new political challenges state was facing, whileexpressing concern over attempts being made to fragment mandate in J&K.
“The party held threadbare discussion about the currentpolitical situation within the state besides measures needed to be taken tostrengthen the party at grass root level,” party’s chief spokesman Rafi AhmadMir said.
The participants observed that the “onslaught” on specialstatus of J&K was multi dimensional and every attempt was being made topolitically dis-empower citizens of the state. “It was also felt that while insome parts of state the voters are being unified for common cause there wereparallel efforts being made in other parts of Jammu and Kashmir to createvertical political split in order to chock and curb regional aspirations”, Mirsaid.
He said it was decided that a wider consensus needs to bebuilt to defeat “nefarious designs” aimed at dividing the state. The partydeclared that it was open to coordination and reach out to safeguard J&K’score interests and special position.
The meeting decided that the party will launch state wideprograms to reach out to workers besides reorganization of important wings ofthe organization.
“There was a view among the members that several partyleaders who are not now part of the organization have contributed for thegrowth of party and efforts could be made to reach out to them for largerinterests of the state,” the statement said.
The PDP leaders, who attended the meeting, included ARVeeri, Abdul Haq Khan, GhulamNabi Lone (Hanjura), Mehboob Beg, Rafi Ahmad Mir,SartajMadni, Naeem Akhtar, Muhammad Dilawar Mir, PeerzadaMansoorHussain,Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Nizam-ud-din Bhat, FirdousTak, Choudhary Hameed, VedMahajan, Tarlok Singh Bajwa and several others.